The Poughkeepsie Park Stewardship Program is a proactive, community-centered initiative designed to ensure Poughkeepsie’s parks are safe, welcoming, and positive spaces for children and families. The Poughkeepsie Alliance is helping to convene the PARKnership, a group of local residents and organizations committed to reclaiming parks for youth and families through stewardship and programming. The PARKnership first convened to reclaim Pershing Avenue Park nearly seven years ago to support its redesign and activation. The Poughkeepsie Alliance supported this effort by initiating a study to determine the feasibility of turning 1.5 acres of City owned land within the park into a community garden, which eventually became the Pershing Community Farm. The Poughkeepsie Park Stewardship Program is a continuation of the PARKnership’s efforts to keep parks accessible and welcoming to everyone. The program employs full time seasonal Park Stewards to work across Malcolm X Park, Pershing Avenue Park and Earline Patrice Park (Mansion Square), with a focus on:

Keeping public parks safe and accessible for youth and families

• Offering compassionate referrals and relevant resources to individuals in need
• Removing litter to improve public perception of the parks
  

Poughkeepsie’s parks are essential for youth development, community health, and neighborhood vitality. However, illicit activities—often concentrated in the public realm—create real and perceived safety issues that discourage parents and youth from using the parks. This program takes a holistic approach to community wellbeing, employing trained, full-time Park Stewards who will:

• Encourage a return of families and youth through regular programming and engagement
• Serve as park ambassadors to build relationships with park users and community members
• Provide consistent, positive presence in parks
• Connect individuals in need with local support services
• Provide first-line crisis support when necessary
• Help prevent parks from being dominated by unsafe behaviors

The initiative is administered by a collaboration between Hudson River Housing and Scenic Hudson, balancing  park programming with harm reduction, and is rooted in dignity and the right to safe public space for youth. Hudson River Housing hired two stewards for the 2025 season and are planning to hire three stewards for the 2026 season, which will operate from spring until fall.